Review- Holes (Louis Sachar)

Synopsis

Stanley Yelnats' family has a history of bad luck, so he isn't too surprised when a miscarriage of justice sends him to a boys' juvenile detention centre. At Camp Green Lake the boys must dig a hole a day, five feet deep, five feet across, in the dried up lake bed. The Warden claims the labour is character building, but it is a lie. Stanley must dig up the truth.

                     - Goodreads.com

Review

I must admit this isn’t my first time re-reading Holes, in fact it’s not even my 2^nd time. I’ve probably read this book a good half a dozen times at the least, and it never gets old. I first read this book when I was in middle school (I even stole unknowingly the copy from my school library), and ever since then I feel like I give it a reread every couple of years. There are very few books that I can do that with, besides maybe Harry Potter. 

The story starts with Stanley being sent to Camp Green Lake as the more favourable option rather than going to jail for a crime that he was wrongly accused of. But Camp Green Lake is anything but green; A barren wasteland where every boy is made to dig a hole a day to help ‘build character’. But what are they really digging for? And why is the warden so interested if they find anything of value?

Stanley is a great protagonist, he’s easily likable from the start and you want to empathise with him. There is an array of wacky and odd side characters who all play their roles perfectly.

There’s not much I can say about this book except that I adore it. It’s a quick read with adventure, suspense, and a great woven tale between the past and the present. I highly recommend for all age groups, you'll wizz through it in the blink of an eye and wonder why you didn't read it sooner. 

My Rating 5/5

January Wrap-Up

Personal Updates 

I feel like January brought adventuring which was great- even if there have been 2 heatwaves this summer already!

Me and my partner went camping for New Years with some friends which was great. I'd never been before so it was definitely a new experience with the limited facilities and long drops.

I sang Karaoke for the first time which was thrilling. I was almost soiling my pants before I went up, but then I was on stage singing and it was exhilarating. For those of you who care, I sang "There are worse things I could do" from Grease (I'm big into musicals haha). 

There was a hens party and a wedding for an old friend. We went hiking in the Coromandel and got to visit the beautiful Cathedral Cove (featured), which was so gorgeous. 

A few other notable mentions include a drag show and a male strip show haha. Reading wise, January was a good month for me. I had a bit of time off here and there so I was able to get some reading done. I'm not as hopeful for February though.

Finished 

   

 

   

They Both Die at the End was my favorite of the month, just WOW! My review will be up soon, but  this book was so thought provoking and so well written.  Saga Volume 8 was of course just as good as its predecessors, there's not much I can say that I haven't already said before this series is so good. 

Alex + Ada was a nice surprise, but almost too short. I wanted more of it and I wish the story could have been extended out. At the same time the ending was fitting and wrapped up nicely. I was glad to be able to finish a series this month when I completed the final installment in the To All the Boys I've Loved Before Series, Always and Forever Lara Jean. While the book probably wasn't necessary, it was a nice 'ending' as Lara Jean goes off to college. 

Up Next In February

Going with the flow in January actually worked really well for me. I picked up books as I felt in the mood for them and I also DNF'd or put on hold books which I wasn't feeling (Which is one of my goals for this year). I'm going to go with the same concept in February and only have a few books that I really want to read and the rest is up to my mood. 

        

  

Did you go on any adventures over the New Year period? What was your favorite memory of January?

Back from Hiatus

Ugh, I've missed blogging so much! I was sitting here with my cup of tea on a Saturday night and for the first time in a long time felt like I had nothing to do (didn't feel like reading, the house was clean, caught up on washing etc) and all I could think was how much I missed my book blog... So I'm back :)

Book blogging use to take up a lot of my time and when work and the rest of life got to be too much it was the first thing to go. There was also a certain pressure I felt to read and review ALL the books I was reading. Not to mention reviewing the latest releases (when to be honest I'm happy just catching up on all the old releases still on my TBR). Despite all this though, after more than 6 months I really feel the need to come back and give it another go. Hopefully if I put less pressure on myself and do it just for the fun of it, I'll be able to stick with it longer term. 

*Sigh* It feels good to be back.